Sunday, July 24, 2011

One Night Stand - A Mike Figgis Film - DVD

Originally released on VHS and now on DVD, One Night Stand http://www.amazon.com/One-Night-Stand-Wesley-Snipes/dp/6304884370 is a fascinating and complex film about relationships, starring Wesley Snipes (Rising Sun, Money Train), Ming-Na Wen (E.R., The Joy Luck Club), Kyle McLaughlen (Twin Peaks, The Doors), Nastassja Kinski (Paris, Texas, Red Letters) and Robert Downey Jr. (U.S. Marshalls, Chaplin). (This film brings to mind 'Borderline' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_(1930_film)http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Robeson-Portraits-Collection-Borderline/dp/BOOOKRNGOAhttp://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/dvdreviews31/borderline.htm a film which Paul Robeson made back in 1930. Made in Switzerland, Borderline is a silent film {with an interracial cast} by Filmmaker-Director-Writer Kenneth MacPherson, about marital affairs, in much the same vein {although not as clearly thought out and resolved} as One Night Stand; remarkable for the fact that Robeson starred in this Art Film back in the 1930s.)
One Night Stand revolves around Wesley Snipes, and his relationships with an old friend dying from Aids (Robert Downey Jr.), a woman he meets while on a business trip to New York (Nasstassja Kinski), his wife (Ming-Na Wen) and Robert Downey Jr's brother (Kyle McLaughlan), who he later learns, is also Nasstassja Kinski's husband. As the story unravels, it keeps you glued to your seat. The locales in New York and Los Angeles are marvelous, especially the music venues; and the main theme, 'Someone Just Like You' by Nina Simone, is just gorgeous. This is quite an extraordinary and artistic nouveau monde production by Producer-Director-Writer-Composer, Mike Figgis.
Well worth seeing.